• Question: Can magnets work underwater? If they do what makes them work? If they don't what makes them not work?

    Asked by liv74766 to Antoine, Daniel, James, Julie, Saima on 9 Nov 2013. This question was also asked by reenexox.
    • Photo: Antoine Buchard

      Antoine Buchard answered on 9 Nov 2013:


      Hi Liv74766
      Thanks for your question!
      Magnets do work under water! Magnets work because they create an electromagnetic field around them. Those attraction/repulsion forces has not problem passing through water as water is not magnetic.

    • Photo: Julie Speakman

      Julie Speakman answered on 10 Nov 2013:


      Hi Liv74766
      I agree with Antoine, magnets do work under water….but don’t take our word for it, test it yourself!

    • Photo: Saima Rehman

      Saima Rehman answered on 11 Nov 2013:


      Well, yes they do. Because, the waves they pass (magnetic waves), can easily pass when these are in water. There is no effect of water on these waves. Their strength to attract and repel iron will still be the same as out side the water. Hey, why don’t you do this experiment today? And let me know as well 🙂

    • Photo: James Hickey

      James Hickey answered on 11 Nov 2013:


      Hi Liv! Interesting question. I’ve never tried it myself but as the other guys have said, they will still work.

      However, they will not necessarily work in the same way. Under water there are other forces also competing, such as buoyancy (which makes some things float) and increased resistance (it’s harder to move your hand through water than through air). So while they will work, the magnets will need to be more powerful to perform the same job. You could test this by trying to attract iron filings to a magnet on a regular table, and comparing it to how they are attracted in a water tank.

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